The Poisons in the Mud
by Earwax
Summary: They are children of fire and will never escape the flame. A collection of vignettes into the minds of the Royal Family.


**Author's Note:** The title is taken from a repeated line used in Robert Graves' I, Claudius. The full quote is "Let all the poisons that lurk in the mud hatch out." It is a reference to the corruption and depravity that exists within Claudius' family. I thought the phrase definitely fit the Fire Nation royals.

The Poisons in the Mud

(An Avatar Fic)

_**Zuko Alone – Flashback**_

_Ursa – The Decision_

"It is unfortunate. I know you are fond of him."

This is the closest Ozai has ever come to an apology in all the time his wife has known him.

The Fire Lady takes an unsteady breath, her mind working furiously. So, Azula had not lied. Ursa shouldn't have questioned her. Both mother and child are aware of Azulon's temper, his cruelty, and his disdain for his lesser son. Ozai will not go against him, not even at the cost of Zuko's life. What is one child when compared to the shadowed promise of total power? The world is too tempting a prize to be ignored. Ursa knows what she has to do.

Delicately, she removes the crown from her hair.

"I am so very tired of cleaning up your mistakes."

She sees Ozai's eyes flash in the mirror, but does not turn around to face him. Her husband detests insults, but he will not silence her. She is more valuable to him than his heirs.

"I do not understand, my dear wife," he mutters, waiting for the apology that will never come.

"You were too bold. You know Azulon favors Iroh. It was unwise of you to make a bid for the throne so soon after Lu Ten's death."

"It will be quick," Ozai places a hand on her shoulder. "I promise you."

"You will not harm my son," Ursa says, turning towards her husband.

"It is unavoidable. Disobedience is punished by exile. I will not be an outcast."

The nails dig into her skin. Ursa pushes his hand away.

"We will have another son. One who will be more to my liking, and to yours."

Ozai's appeasements are hollow comforts. Has her husband always been this much his father's son? She shudders at the notion of placing the world in his palm. It is too soon to break, she must keep herself in check.

Firmly, she declares, "Our children are not possessions to be replaced. You will have no more heirs."

"You are not in a position to deny me, Ursa."

Nor is she an object to be marked and owned. She is not a helpless child ignorant of the bloody sacrifice. She is not a vapid puppet to be discarded when the games are done. Ursa borrows Azula's words, and speaks them with the same ruthlessness.

"On the contrary, Ozai, I am in the perfect position. Azulon is old; his health can fail at any time."

"You are not serious," Ozai's eyes dart around the bedroom, as if hoping to find the spies Ursa has sent elsewhere. "That is high treason."

His stoicism fades, revealing a trace of the boy Ursa had married, the one that she had bound herself to so long ago.

"Treason to say an old man will soon die?"

"He is my father."

He says this for propriety's sake, though there is no one around to impress. Ozai has loathed the Fire Lord for decades.

"This way we both get what we want. You will have the throne. I will have Zuko's life."

Ozai looks appalled, as if he had forgotten what his wife has always been capable of, as if her compassion does not walk hand in hand with her cruelty. Ozai forgets that Ursa, too, comes from noble blood. She is just as strong as he, and wickedness is not limited to his line.

"Iroh is still named his heir. Azulon's death won't change that."

"Your father will compose a deathbed letter detailing his final intentions. I know his penmanship. No one will question the words."

"I will – have to banish you," he says reluctantly, "should you attempt to compromise me once Iroh returns."

"Fine, the Fire Lord will be dead by morning."

Ursa does not want to leave her children, but Ozai's paranoia has made this unavoidable. Zuko will be alone, but he will live. She places Zuko life above that of his savage grandfather; and above the gentle Iroh, who does not deserve such a betrayal; and above all those who will surely die before Ozai succeeds in recreating the world in his own image.

Ozai kisses her; his lips are cold upon her cheek.

Ursa weeps.

_**The Storm - Flashback**_

_Ozai - Impotence_

"How could you? He is your son!"

His brother is enraged and Ozai is no longer in a position to be bothered by this fact.

"Burned and banished," Iroh roared, the tips of his fingers flickering flame, "just because he spoke out of turn! How could you betray him like this?"

"He betrayed me," Ozai says stiffly. "I command respect and discipline from my children, traits that Zuko sorely lacks."

"He loves you and this Nation. He spoke only for our soldiers' benefit!"

Ozai wonders why his foolish brother is recounting events that they've both borne witness to. "It was not his place to contradict the General. His words were an insult to me and to the Nation."

"But he is your son," Iroh quiets, almost pleading, emotion shining from his eyes. Ozai wonders how he ever could have admired such a weakling.

"Your son," he repeats.

Ozai wishes Iroh would cease this endless cycle. Ozai has not nor will ever forget who his progeny are.

"Why would you want to send him away?"

"I am giving Zuko a chance to redeem himself. All will be forgiven if he brings me the Avatar."

"There is no Avatar!"

This is precisely the point.

"There is always an Avatar," Ozai smugly contradicts. "He is our greatest threat and must be eliminated."

"He has not been seen for a hundred years. The Avatar is a legend, a phantom terror. Even if he is alive, the world is within our grasp; he can't stop us now."

"Us?" Ozai questions, "I was not aware this was a joint monarchy."

Iroh glowers silently; impotent rage is all that he is capable of.

"Zuko is a child. How long can he possibly survive in the lands of our enemies?"

If all went according to plan, not very long. Why can't Iroh understand? Zuko is too weak to be his heir. Ozai has suspected it for years, but recent events have confirmed the truth. His son's compassion will be his downfall. Zuko lacks the stubborn cruelty needed to rule. He will never have the strength to do what needs to be accomplished, what is inevitable before the final peace. His son is weak. Weak like his brother, weak like his wife. For years Ozai has allowed Zuko to live for her sake, for it is because of her Ozai is Fire Lord, but he never promised her the boy's protection. Ozai is finished with his misshapen son. Zuko's destiny is his own.

"He will manage. In any case, Zuko is still my heir." Ozai cannot give Azula the title until the firstborn's demise. "He is banished, not disowned."

"He is disowned in every way save one. How could you do this to him? He loves you."

Ozai knows Iroh is remembering his own son, now three years passed. Ozai cannot comprehend Iroh's lingering attachment. Dead is dead. Ozai rarely remembers Azulon with any feeling other than scorn. Occasionally, his thoughts stray to Ursa. He enjoyed her company and desires her warmth again. Alas, she is a murderer, one he cannot trust. He'll not see her again.

"I've done what needs to be done. My word is final. Zuko will only be allowed home once he brings me the Avatar. If he returns before that, no matter his reasons, I will consider him a traitor to this Nation."

His brother's eyes widen, and then narrow.

"Then I will go with Prince Zuko," Iroh states, far too boldly for a subordinate. "He will need someone with him whom he can trust."

Iroh cares deeply for Ozai's son. Zuko will expire more quickly without his brother's damaging influence.

"I do not recall granting you permission," Ozai smirks. Ozai is the true Fire Lord. He is the only master here. He will never tire of humbling the great Dragon of the West, the brother who was once heir to the world, but who now lives off Ozai's scraps.

"It will be in your best interests if you do so."

His elder brother's words resemble Ursa's. The two are far too similar for his liking.

"Why is that?" asks Ozai, who suddenly feels as if he has exposed something raw.

Iroh's teeth are the perfect white, smoke emits from his throat.

"Because the only reason you now sit on that throne is because I have not desired to take it from you."

Ozai does not love his power so much that he is blind to reason. The threat and the failure gone in one blow. Iroh has many friends in powerful and peculiar places. If Ozai is not careful he may repeat his father's history.

"You will both leave in the morning," Ozai declares, and that is the last he will say on the matter.

Iroh bows, turning that respect into a final insult.

"Thank you, my dear brother. Now, if you'll excuse me, I must go pack my tea, among with other necessities, for the long voyage ahead."

_**Post - Day of the Black Sun**_

_Azula - Assignments_

Zuko has gone away again, this time of his own accord. Father has informed her of the details. Zuko desires to join the Avatar and aide him in the destruction of the Fire Nation's empire. Father spits the word "peace" as the curse Azula knows it to be. He wants her to find her wayward brother. She sighs. She has done this task before. The first time was a challenge, now it is merely a repetitious chore.

He gives her permission to kill Zuko if necessary, and then states in no uncertain terms that it shall be necessary. Her interest peaks, but she soon dismisses the notion. Zuko is a fool and a failure, but she will gain nothing from his demise. Father has already named her his heir, a bold move even for a civilization as progressive as the Fire Nation. Fire Lord Azula, she is already accustomed to the title. Zuko must know of this. His birthright is now hers. She hopes he is still loyal enough to their father to feel this cruel thrust. Feel it for his entire pathetic, long, lonely life.

The smirk fades, the only sign of her momentarily lapse of judgment. Azula knows that Zuko belongs completely to Iroh. He is no longer Ozai's son, and will not return to the Fire Nation in any form but chains. Pity, she has become used to his presence. Azula somewhat enjoys her new brother; this sullen, angry child – still petty, still stupid, but different. He is stronger now, and not nearly as easy to manipulate as he was months ago in Ba Sing Se. This Zuko has potential, but not the crucial potential Azula craves.

Secretly, Azula has always desired an equal, someone who is not a piece in her games, but an active player. Her father comes close. He is perhaps the only person she respects, but he is still her enemy. This was one of the first lessons.

Iroh is a threat. Even now he stands in the way of her father's absolute power, but first, first there was Lu Ten – the continuation of Iroh's line. Even as a girl Azula knew her cousin would have to be eliminated before father could even breathe a word about the throne to Azulon. Conveniently, Lu Ten died in Ba Sing Se. If this was father's doing he never mentioned it to her. Perhaps it was a fortunate accident. Yes, it definitely was, because Iroh could not keep his honor in the wake of his son's death. He was disgraced and damaged. He did not care to rule without an heir to succeed him. Still, she remembers, old Azulon was stubborn. He would not give Iroh's birthright to his second son. The next day grandfather was dead, mother had disappeared, and father was Fire Lord.

The road to power knows no love. Family is a sentimental word, a disposable nuisance. Azula is fond of her father, for he is the only one who does not think she is a monster, but he is still expendable. He always was.

Zuko is likewise worthless, but he is a much more amusing toy than her father will ever be. Her brother is just so emotional, so desperate for affection. Such neediness bewilders Azula, who has never required this peculiar familiarity.

She puzzled their mother in a similar manner. Azula has never felt the need to hide who she truly is, even when she discovered that her cruelty made her unique among the others of her age. She is a prodigy and heir to the throne. She is the best of her Nation. She makes no apologies. Not even to her mother who cried when she was sure she was alone. Not to the woman who labeled her daughter a monster simply because she wasn't weak.

Still, years later, she feels her mother's stares of confusion, of worry, of fear. Her mother's eyes pursue her and Azula wonders why she cares.

Monster.

It was a mistake to tell Zuko the name hurt. Now he knows her flaw. He will use that against her, or try to. Zuko has always been terrible with success.

Monster.

It is what she is, what she has always been. Still, Azula has never dealt well with rejection. Father says Azula was born lucky, while Zuko was lucky to be born. Azula still believes that. She will always believe that, but still her mother stares. Ursa never understood Ozai or Azula. She catered to Zuko as one would an obedient pet. Weakness breeds weakness. Failure seeks its own company.

Azula has never been a failure. She is perfect. That is why her mother stared.

"What is wrong with that child?" Ursa's voice follows her in a way Ozai's never will.

Monster.

Azula shivers, tells herself she's cold, and goes to find her brother.

_**Post – The Beach**_

_Zuko - Confliction_

Zuko has everything he ever wanted, but it is still not enough. Zuko has his honor, his throne, and his father. For the first time in years he is home, and it is as if nothing has changed. He still lacks his mother's comfort, and the laughing cousin who taught him the way of the swords. However, Zuko became used to these absences years before his banishment. Their loss no longer wounds him as deeply as it once did.

Zuko need only to look into the nearest mirror to remind himself what is different from before. The hideous scar will never be anything other than the angry red, an everlasting proof of his failure as a son, and as a man. Like the scar his father gave him, Zuko's shame is eternal. This shame follows him regardless of where he lays his head to sleep.

Zuko misses his Uncle. Iroh has always been able to alleviate Zuko's ceaseless depression with his peculiar words of wisdom. But Iroh is not here in the palace. He is rotting in one of the Nation's finest prisons and it is Zuko who helped put him there.

Azula's words won't leave his head, "He betrayed you." Uncle is the traitor, not Zuko, who has never been anything but a loyal prince, and a loyal son.

Why does Azula only lie when the words are painful to Zuko's ears? Her honesty almost always comes in the form of praise. Zuko believes what he wants to believe. It has always been this way.

Once, Azula nearly killed Uncle with her lightning. She's tried to kill Zuko several times before on their father's orders. Less than half a year ago father had branded his only son and brother as traitors to their beloved Nation. Zuko and Iroh had cut off their topknots and lived as fugitives and refugees for months. Ozai had not cared whether they were dead or alive.

This was in the past now. Neither father nor Azula has apologized for attempting to end him, and it seems so childish that Zuko expects that small propriety. Just another day in the life of their family; to kill the firstborn or to not kill the firstborn – such a trivial decision, like picking an outfit or a tea flavor. Grimacing, Zuko tries again to push all thoughts of Iroh out of his mind. Zuko made his decision months ago in Ba Sing Se. He chose his father over Iroh, Azula over the Avatar, and his childhood home over the entire city of Ba Sing Se.

No, that isn't right. Azula had already conquered the city without him. She needing him to accomplish her goal was just another lie. Zuko wonders what has become of the Earth Kingdom metropolis. He wants to believe that Jin is faring well under the occupation. She had been kind to Zuko, kind in a manner he has rarely experienced. Zuko doesn't love her, doesn't feel anything but the slightest acquaintanceship for her, but he hopes she's all right.

He also wonders about the fate of Uncle's tea shop. Iroh had loved the little store, and Zuko, quite briefly, had been fond of it too. Zuko wonders if he could have lived his entire life as Lee, the Earth Kingdom refugee who worked in a tea shop owned by his odd uncle, Mushi. What kind of life could the two have created? A part of Zuko wishes he could have stayed in Ba Sing Se. He's grown accustomed to the brown and green; the volatile reds of his Nation irritate his skin.

That's probably the guilt.

Zuko has gained back his birthright. He has Azula as an ally and Mai as his girlfriend. He has the finest clothes, the finest foods, and the finest teachers. He has his father. For all these things he betrayed Iroh, the one person who loved him, the one person who stayed with Zuko throughout the darkest times in his life. For every one instance Zuko has saved his Uncle's life, Iroh has saved his ten. Zuko would have died years ago if Uncle hadn't protected him.

Zuko thoughts again turn to Mai and wonders if he could stay just for her. He loves her, and she might love him, but it's very difficult to tell with a girl who doesn't like to express herself. She cares for him, supports him, but he can't say for sure if she'll choose him over Azula. Though it pains Zuko to admit it, Mai is a poor substitute for Iroh.

For this hollow existence he has betrayed his Uncle. There is no peace because of that one fact. Mai doesn't understand; Zuko can never be the Prince he's supposed to be, the one his father wants, he can only be who he is. Zuko is not sure he believes in the world his father seeks to create. Zuko doesn't know what to believe. He doesn't know right from wrong. He's going crazy, crazy because he's had every wish answered. He has everything he's ever wanted and he's just so angry, just so empty.

He doesn't know how long he can stay here while his Uncle dies slowly in his prison. Zuko knows he has to leave, but he doesn't know if he has the strength to destroy his life for a second time.

_**Post – The Avatar and the Fire Lord**_

_Iroh - Destiny_

Fire is passion. Fire is strength. Fire is warmth. Fire is life.

Fire purifies. Fire destroys.

Iroh cannot fathom his brother, a man who cannot love his children. Ozai has destroyed his two heirs – ruined them in the name of power.

Iroh lost his son to war years ago. Not an hour passes when he does not grieve.

Ozai seeks to turn his children in monsters. In Azula, he has succeeded, but Zuko – Zuko is still human. This is a failure Ozai cannot tolerate.

Ozai's children are meant to be weapons. Their purpose is to increase his power. Power is the only relevance found in this life. Azula knows this. It seems that she has known this truth since her dear mother's womb. Life is tool to her, both useful and expendable. She, like her father, cares only for control. The world is a toy to her, the people are dolls, and everything is a game. She knows no loyalty, no love. She is cruel, and wicked, and exactly like her father.

Ozai looks at her with pride. She is his dutiful daughter. She is his perfect heir. So intelligent, so ruthless. Ozai seeks to conquer the world. Should he fail, she will certainly accomplish this in his stead.

Her mother thought her a monster. Iroh wonders if this truth hurts Azula like it would someone who is capable of love. Does her mother's rejection pierce her as sharply as her father's rejection pierces Zuko?

Iroh knows the pain of loss, of death. He hides his grief under kind words and friendly smiles. He will not lose himself to his memories. If he dwells on the past he will go mad. Iroh is not the same man he was years ago. The war has brought him nothing but torment. He now knows that there is no pride in death, in war. Iroh once wanted the world as his crown with Ba Sing Se as his most precious jewel.

This was before Lu Ten's death. A father should never bury his child. A father should never bear the burden of his son's unfulfilled life. Lu Ten was barely twenty when Iroh lit his funeral pyre. Is this why he chose to have a family? Were they all just soldiers in the end? Is this why children continue to be born? To be sacrificed for a broken world, a world of tyrants, a world were love is denounced as the ultimate weakness, and brutality praised as its greatest strength?

Iroh sees his son in everyone he meets, in everyone he's ever known. This was not always so. Once, in another lifetime, Iroh saw nothing. Iroh once believed that all the people of all nations were valuable. Some were just more valuable than others. The Earth Kingdom was strong, but it was not indomitable. It would fall to the Fire Nation, and with it, the rest of the world. It was better this way. The Fire Nation was the most excellent civilization of the Four. It was its duty to share that glory with the less enlightened nations.

The Earth Kingdom would be grateful to be under the Fire Nation's tutelage. The people of the Earth would only realize this after the conquest, just as the Water Tribes and the Air Nomads before them – if any were still alive to benefit from the Fire. Thinking back, Iroh wonders if he ever actually believed his Nation's lies.

Still, Iroh could have lived his entire life in that lie. Lu Ten saved him from it and showed him the truth of the world. The Fire Nation's pain is the world's pain. How many people has Iroh killed? Where their lives not as precious as Lu Ten's? Did they leave people behind? Those who mourn with Iroh's intensity; those who have lost the wholeness of being, the love that had made life wonderful, to the finality of death? Through Lu Ten's death Iroh is redeemed. He'd rather stayed damned if he could still have his son beside him.

Ba Sing Se is nothing when compared to the people who inhabit it. It is nothing when compared to Lu Ten, who died needlessly for the Fire Nation, who died needlessly because he loved his father and would follow him anywhere. So many people lost for pride.

One hundred years of bloodshed. A world nearly enslaved, and to what point and purpose? It is impossible to count the dead, those beyond saving.

Iroh knows he cannot save Azula. She is too much her father's daughter. They are born of fire, and know only the flame. Everything else has burned away.

Iroh hopes he can still save Zuko, that the inferno will not consume him as it has done to his entire line. But nothing is certain, despite what he has told his nephew. Man makes his own destiny. Fate, like Iroh's helplessness, is an illusion.

Ozai has never understood fantasy. Even as a child he glared at the world with dark, vengeful eyes. Iroh cannot understand such rage, the absence of anything human. Ozai lusts for power, and has drunk the blood of his family to obtain it. Old Azulon dead under mysterious circumstances, Ursa banished to the abyss, and Zuko damaged perhaps beyond repair. They are like Azula's toys, broken dolls of no consequence.

Iroh is Fire, but he is also Earth. He is Water. He is Air. He finds comfort in these elements, these foreign energies. Earth is substance. Water is change. Air is freedom. All are useful, except for the Fire. In its current form, Fire can only kill. Fire has burned the entire world. How long will it take to purge the flames from the souls of the marked? Iroh should have known, known years before Lu Ten taught him this most important lesson.

Fire is power and power always, always corrupts.

Power always, always destroys.


End file.
